Laughter is the Language of the Soul
by justorchestrathings
Summary: Fred Weasley was predictable. He only cared about pranking and his brother. He was frustrating and rash and lacked all common sense. Annabelle shouldn't have cared that he asked Angelina Johnson to the Yule ball. So why was she so upset? "You can cut all the flowers, but you cannot keep spring from coming"- Pablo Neruda
1. Chapter 1

All rights go to JK Rowling except for my character. Also all rights go to Pablo Neruda for the title of this fic. :)

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Chapter 1

The day was July 29th, 1994, at approximately 10:22 in the evening. The sky opened its floodgates and rain began pouring on the streets of London, and in the dark of the night a young girl ran. Her breath came in short gasps, and her short brown hair flopped against the skin of her face as she glanced behind her hurriedly. Hanging by thick straps on her back was a small cargo backpack and a violin in a dark green case, slamming into her as she quickened her pace. Behind her you could hear the sounds of men shouting and cackling as she ran, taunting her about how she couldn't possibly escape them.

"The mudblood thinks she can escape!" a harsh voice shouted after her followed by more wild laughter.

Still the girl kept running. She risked another glance back and as she did so, she slipped and fell right into the arms of someone. Turning back around, she saw that it was one of the many goons who had raided her home and attacked the family she was staying with.

How the hell did he get in front of me, she thought desperately, And what the hell is a mudblood.

He had long stringy black hair with a ferocious looking face and a black cloak that revealed a rather hairy chest. He snarled at the girl as she tried desperately to escape from his grasp and drew her closer with a creepy smile on his face.

He got so close to her that she could smell his awful breath and she shuddered and began to cry. Then suddenly he stopped. His entire body froze but his eyes continued to move, widening in rage and glancing everywhere. Cries of pain and surprise echoed down the alleyway and suddenly everything was silent except for the quiet sobs of the girl who was stuck in that man's grasp.

All of a sudden bright white lights appeared in the alleyway and revealed several other people in cloaks of varying colors. A woman came up to the large man who had the girl stuck in his grasp and she gently helped pull her out. The girl collapsed on the ground, weeping and feeling utterly useless.

"Hey, hey you're alright! Listen to me you'll be fine. My name is Tonks, my friends and I are here to help. Can you tell me your name?"

The woman had put her arms around the girl, trying to warm her up from the freezing rain. She had stopped crying now and was shaking from cold and fright as she looked up at the woman with purple hair and kind eyes. She scanned the alleyway and saw one other person, a lanky man with a scar running down his face. He was looking at her expectantly, holding out what looked like a glorified stick in defense. The girl looked back at the woman. The tears that had been on her face were gone now, mixed with the rain that continued to pour.

"My name is Annabelle".

What happened next was otherworldly to Annabelle. The woman, Tonks, took one look at the other and then took Annabelle's arm. Suddenly it felt as though Annabelle was being squeezed through a very thin and long tube, not at all comfortable. When the squeezing finally stopped, she was standing in front of a rather odd looking house that was at least four stories high, her head spinning from whatever had just happened.

Annabelle stumbled a bit and clutched her head in pain, but was otherwise okay. However, this was when she began to panic. She quickly scanned her surroundings for a way to escape, but only saw marshes and open fields around her.

"Who are you people? What was that?" she demanded angrily, trying to make sense of what had just happened.

"Please just relax, we're only trying to help you. You don't even know what you are, do you?" Tonks said, reaching out to Annabelle.

This only succeeded in bothering Annabelle further, who narrowed her eyes at Tonks and flinched away from her touch..

"What do you mean?" Annabelle asked very slowly, enunciating every word.

"You're a witch Annabelle, and those men were hunting you because of it." Tonks said in a very matter of fact tone.

Annabelle's feet had frozen at those words and her eyes widened in disbelief. She thought back on her life in this moment. You see, Annabelle had a very normal family, not at all magical. She grew up in America, Texas to be exact. She went to regular school and played the regular violin, and had regular friends. Sure she had a very strange connection to animals, and sometimes she found some rather odd looking creatures in the surrounding wooded areas back home that nobody believed she had really seen. But still, Annabelle's life had been very normal up until a few days ago.

"You people are insane" she said quickly.

Tonks smiled, which Annabelle thought was strange considering she had just told her she was insane.

"Have you really never done or seen anything that didn't make sense to you or your family? Made something move on accident, had a run in with something unexplainable?"

Annabelle paused. She had been staying in London for about two weeks now for orchestra camp and since she had arrived, she had been having the most peculiar experiences. For instance, when playing through a Bach partita, when it was time for Annabelle to turn the page of music, it turned itself. She stopped in confusion but immediately moved on, thinking that she probably had turned the page without thinking about it. She also could've sworn that she had seen the strangest animal yesterday when walking home, it looked like a green twig and yet he was standing on two very wobbly legs and walking. When Annabelle blinked, the little guy was gone.

Annabelle looked up at Tonks again, who was smiling warmly at her, probably realizing that Annabelle had come to this realization.

"Well then", Annabelle said, "What happens now?".

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Hi everyone, thanks so much for reading! This is my first attempt at a fanfic, so we'll see how it goes. I was just going to write the whole thing and then post the chapters periodically, but after a while I started wanting feedback. So please feel free to review! Constructive feedback is always welcome. Thanks! :)


	2. Chapter 2

JK Rowling owns everything except for my character Annabelle Winston.

Throughout the fanfic I'll be mentioning music that doesn't match with the time period of Harry Potter, and I'm doing this on purpose. The music that I pick is a direct reflection of Annabelle and is very important to the story.

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Once inside the strange house, Annabelle was dotted after by a woman by the name of Molly Weasley.

"Oh you poor dear, you must be freezing! Here, take this blanket, that's it. Now you sit right here and I'll get you a nice hot cup of cocoa.", she said very quickly and with a warm smile.

Annabelle was bit shocked by the bustling woman and so forgot to respond. She pulled the blanket that had been wrapped around her shoulders closer and sat on an armchair near the blazing fireplace. She was sitting inside the living room of what she was told was the Burrow. While Annabelle was enamoured by the small but cosy room and constantly taking in every detail, Mrs. Weasley hurried back in and handed her a mug that smelled absolutely amazing.

"Thank you", Annabelle said gratefully after taking a cautious sip.

Tonks then took this time to explain everything to Annabelle. She learned that her rescuers names were Tonks, the strange lady with the purple hair, and Remus Lupin, the lanky man with the marred face. They explained to her that the Wizarding world existed and was currently on the brink of war. The men who had come after her were called Death Eaters, followers of the supposedly deceased Lord Voldemort. They had discovered that she was a Witch born from a family of Muggles, non-magical folk, and had quickly attempted to capture her.

At this point, Annabelle became concerned about the family that she had been staying with. These men had attacked her home and Annabelle had no time to check up on the family inside before they were after her. After explaining this to Tonks, Mr. Lupin went to go check on things there.

Anabelle sat in silence, taking in all of the information that was just thrown at her.

"Okay, I appreciate the help and all that, but what do I do now? Obviously I can't go home, and I'm no use in the war because I don't know anything about magic." Annabelle said once she had gotten herself together again.

Tonks raised her eyebrows at the young girl sitting across from her. She was obviously quite brave and level-headed, not at all what Tonks was expecting.

"Well it's really up to you at this point. You can go back to Texas and live as best a normal life as you can."

Annabelle looked surprised by this, thinking that she could never go back to her old life now.

"Or you can go to Hogwarts on September 1st. It's the best school in the world for learning magic. You would have to leave your family for a very long time and do your best to catch up on as much work as possible before school starts, but I think it's the best option for you."

For a moment, fear overtook Annabelle and brought tears to her eyes as she looked away from Tonks and contemplated her options. How long would it be before she saw her family again? What would she tell them? This and a million other questions were running through her head.

"May I talk to them? My family, I mean." Annabelle asked.

Tonks looked behind her towards Mrs. Weasley, who gave a slight nod of affirmation.

Annabelle wasted no time in digging through her backpack for her phone and getting up to stand by the window and call home. After a few rings, her father picked up the phone.

"Annabelle? How are you?" her father quickly asked, seeing as she hadn't called him in a while.

"Hi Papa, I'm fine. How are Becca and Jordan? Is everything alright at home?" Annabelle's voice shook, worried that someone had gone after them.

"Everything is fine here and your sisters are good, but are you okay? You sound worried."

"Papa, something's happened. I'll explain everything to you, but you can't think that I'm crazy, okay?"

She then proceeded to explain what had happened tonight at the house she was staying at, what Tonks explained to her, and her options going forward. While explaining this all to her father, Annabelle noticed that Mr. Lupin had returned and gave a grave shake of his head to Tonks. Annabelle faltered in her story, knowing exactly what that meant. A fresh wave of tears began and her hands began to shake.

"Papa, th-, the people that came after me tonight. They killed the Carsons." Annabelle began sobbing at this point and Mrs. Weasley came and put a comforting hand on her back as she wept. Mrs. Weasley took gently took the phone from her and had a quiet conversation with Annabelle's father. After a moment, she handed the phone back and Annabelle gingerly put the phone back up to her ear.

"Annabelle, I need you to be strong, okay? Everything is going to be fine. Now you listen to me, you're going to go to this school and learn as much as you can. Apparently it's the safest place for you right now, and I want you to stay with these people until we figure out what to do next. Everything is going to be okay, I just need you to be safe."

At this point, Annabelle had noticed that her father was comforting himself more than he was her. In that moment, she wiped her tears away and pulled herself together.

"I'll be okay Papa, I promise. Don't worry about a thing. I love you." Annabelle straightened herself up and looked at the three people in the room.

"Thank you", Annabelle said, "for rescuing me tonight. I wouldn't be alive if it wasn't for you."

Mr. Lupin and Tonks just smiled at her before bidding goodnight and leaving. Mrs. Weasley quickly began getting things in order.

"Well my dear, we can set up an extra bed in Ginny's room, my daughter. It'll be a bit makeshift until we can get a bed in there. Until then, I'll go rummage around for some blankets and-"

At that point Annabelle had very gently put a hand on Mrs. Weasley's arm to stop her.

"If it's alright with you Mrs. Weasley, I'd like to stay down here for a bit longer. I've never been by a lit fireplace, it's quite cozy", Annabelle said with a small smile.

Mrs. Weasley smiled at the young girl, already taking an immediate liking to her.

"Of course, just let me know if you need anything. Ginny's room is the second door to the right whenever you're ready to sleep."

Annabelle nodded her thanks, then turned to the fire and sipped on her hot chocolate for a bit. Here she was sitting in the strangest living room she had seen, living the strangest life. Annabelle wondered what would happen next, feeling uncomfortable with the fact that she didn't know for certain where she would be tomorrow. All she did know was that she seemed to be with people that were trustworthy. With that last comforting thought, Annabelle started to slowly fall asleep.

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Hi everyone, thanks for continuing to read! I went ahead and posted chapter two because I'm pretty far ahead on writing and I'm excited to get to the good stuff quickly. Please review and give feedback, I want to make sure that I'm writing the best story that I can. Thanks!


	3. Chapter 3

JK Rowling owns everything except for my character, Annabelle Winston. :)

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Fred Weasley awoke with a start in the morning due to his twin brother knocking around in their room.

"Oi, I'm trying to sleep" Fred said, giving is brother an annoyed and sleepy look.

"Come on now Freddie, we've got to get working. Ron hasn't had a good prank in while, he'll think we've gone soft", George said with a maniacal grin.

That instantly woke Fred up and got him putting on a robe to go downstairs to the backyard. You see, Fred and George were the infamous Weasley twins, pranking young Hogwarts students into next year. They both quickly began running down the stairs of the Burrow, careful to peek around and be sure that their mother was not awake. Upon landing on the first floor with a quiet thud, Fred glanced around to be sure the coast was clear. But instead of finding an empty first floor, his gaze fell upon a small heap of blankets in front of the fireplace, which had gone out sometime in the night. Upon closer inspection, Fred also found a half drinken cup of cocoa nearby.

"Hey George, who d'ya reckon this is?" Fred said quietly when he tiptoed closer and discovered a girl. She was curled up in a tight ball, fast asleep.

"I dunno Fred", George said, also peeking at the girl.

Fred then proceeded to clear his throat very loudly and speak at the highest volume he could, "WELL GEORGIE I DON'T KNOW, MAYBE THOSE BULGARIANS DO HAVE A SHOT AT THE WORLD CUP, EH?"

The girl on the floor shot straight up and glared at the boys standing above her, who were now laughing and slapping each other on the back.

Annabelle, who hadn't gone to bed more than a few hours ago, was seething with rage.

"What the hell is wrong with you two", she demanded without even thinking.

She took a second to notice that these two boys looked exactly the same as she got up from her resting place.

 _Oh how damn wonderful, twins._

Both twins then proceeded to give her rather strange looks, confused by her very American accent.

"I do believe we should be asking what is wrong with you considering we don't know who you are and you're sleeping on the floor of our living room. Who are you any-"

"BOYS"

A very angry Mrs. Weasley came down the stairs with a look of sheer rage on her face.

The two boys swore and pretended to act natural as their mother walked between the two.

"What are you two doing making such a ruckus when we have a guest. You should be ashamed of yourselves." she said very quickly, emphasizing her sentence with a quick smack to the back of their heads.

"Sorry mum", they both said simultaneously.

"Now boys, this is Annabelle- Sorry dear, what was your last name?" Mrs. Weasley looked expectantly at Annabelle, and she was quick to answer.

"Winston, ma'am"

"Ah yes, Annabelle Winston. She is an American witch that we discovered last night. She'll be attending Hogwarts and staying with us for the summer. Annabelle dear, these are two of my sons Fred and George. Don't mind them, they're a bit twitchy" she finished with a fond glare towards them.

Annabelle had briefly forgotten about the events from last night and her heart stopped for a moment at being called an American witch.

After hearing that she was from America, the twins lit up like a Christmas tree.

"Brilliant, so then you must be from Ilvermorny!", one of the twins said in wonder.

"What's it like?"

"What year are you?"

"Do you play Quidditch?"

They began asking questions back and forth that made absolutely no sense, and Annabelle was beginning to feel like she was in a tennis match with them going back and forth.

Annabelle promptly held up and hand and they stopped, waiting excitedly for answers.

"First of all, I have no idea what Ilvermorny is, let alone Quidditch. Second of all, can you two please slow down, you're rather exhausting."

The twins stood very still for a moment watching her, and then they immediately burst out laughing. Annabelle became very frustrated after this and sat down in the armchair by the fireplace while the boys collapsed onto the sofa.

"So how do you not know anything anyways? I'm Fred by the way," the one of the right said with a smile. Annabelle narrowed her eyes at Fred, annoyed that he believed she knew nothing.

"I know a bit, thank you very much. I'm from Texas, I was in town for an orchestra camp when these men attacked me. According to a woman named Tonks, I'm a witch and should have been going to school. For some reason, the Trace or whatever wasn't on me."

"So you don't know anything?" the twin on the left said in disbelief.

Annabelle rolled her eyes yet again _, these two weren't very smart were they_?

"Again, I know plenty, just not what you deem important apparently."

"Well Georgie, guess what that means"

"What does that mean Freddie?"

"Our little Annie here needs to learn about Quidditch" Fred said with a smile.

"Indeed she does" George replied.

They both promptly grabbed her by the arms and hoisted her up, dragging her out to their backyard despite her protests.

"Oi George, go get old Ronniekins while I explain the game to her" Fred said quickly. Annie looked closely at the two, trying to find some sort of feature to be able to tell the two apart. But George had run off to get whoever Ron was and Fred had turned her around towards the open field.

"Alright, so here's how Quidditch works."

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Thanks everyone, please review!


	4. Chapter 4

JK Rowling owns everything except for my character Annabelle Winston.

Needless to say, Quidditch did not go well. Fred talked very quickly and Annie had a hard time keeping up. After he made her repeat the rules back to him to be sure she understood, he showed her the brooms. Annie immediately began laughing at the fact that she was a witch learning how to ride a broom.

"This is absolutely ridiculous, there's no way witches and wizards actually ride on freakin brooms", she said in between laughs.

Fred laughed but was quickly back to business, though he couldn't help but notice that Annie had a very infectious laugh. He soon had her up on the broom and hovering in midair. He then made things quite awkward by getting on the broom behind her and beginning to really fly. Annie felt her cheeks go red, but quickly got over it.

"Wow", she said in amazement, looking at the beautiful view of the English countryside. When she looked back at Fred, he was smiling down at her before he saw people coming out of the house. He expertly flew the broom back down and dismounted before offering a hand to Annie.

"Ma'lady?", he said with a joking smile and a flourish of his hand gesturing for her to dismount.

Annie giggled and curtsied to him claiming, "My good sir" in a heavy British accent.

Annie turned and saw two newcomers, a young boy and girl with red hair to match the others.

"This is Ron and Ginny. Ron is a fourth year and Ginny a third year at Hogwarts" George explained quickly before him and Fred were off towards the brooms.

"Um it's nice to meet you Annabelle" Ron said quickly and with a smile before chasing after his brothers.

"Don't mind him, he only thinks about Quidditch these days, the Cup is in about a month." Ginny said with a shake of her head.

"It's nice to meet you by the way, good to have another girl around."

"Thanks, nice to meet you too."

She paused, "What did George mean when he said you were a third year and Ron a fourth?" Annie asked as they starting walking towards the boys, who were arguing over who got which broom.

"Oh that's what level we are in Hogwarts. You start as a first year when your eleven, and it goes up from there. How old are you?" she asked curiously.

"16" Annie said quickly.

"Oh so you'll be in the same year as Fred and George, they're sixth years." Ginny said quickly.

 _Do all Weasleys talk so fast,_ Annie wondered.

"Oi Ginny, come play! Annie why don't you sit and watch and then we can help you learn to fly later!" one of the twins called over. Annie thought that perhaps it was Fred, his features were just slightly different from George's

As Ginny ran over and grabbed a broom, Annie sat down on the grass and watched in fascination as they flew high into the air and began tossing a ball back and forth with each other. Annie smiled at their game, thinking that it would be fun to be up there with them. She sighed contentedly and layed back on the warm grass, soaking in the sun. It was so relaxing to just lay there with the Weasleys shouting in the distance, feeling much warmer than she did last night in the rain. About half an hour later when she felt a shift in the grass nearby, Annie's eyes popped open and she sat up quickly.

"Easy does it, it's just me love" Fred Weasley quickly said as her sat down next to her.

"Sorry", Annie said, "Still a bit on edge I guess" Annie said while looking at the others, who were now on the ground wrestling. Annie laughed as Ginny sat right on top of Ron to get him to stop moving and Ron started shouting in annoyance.

"So Ginny says that you're the same year as George and I, which means that you're stuck with us" he said while waggling his eyebrows at me.

I smiled and raised my own eyebrows at him.

"I suppose I am" Annie said with a smile.

"Well, if-"

"Kids, it's lunchtime, get inside!" Mrs. Weasley called out from the backdoor.

Annie and Fred got up and made their way inside along with everyone else. Lunch was a quiet and delicious affair. Molly Weasley was a force to be reckoned with in the kitchen. It was quickly down to business however, when Mrs. Weasley informed Annie that a professor from Hogwarts would be coming to evaluate her knowledge and discuss a learning schedule for her.

"I would suggest cleaning up a bit though dear. Remus found your stuff at the house last night and it's in Ginny's room. Ginny, if you'll please show her to the bathroom so she can get ready." Mrs. Weasley said.

Ginny got up with a smile and lead Annie first to her room. It was a nice room with several posters lining the wall and a nice view of the orchard outside. Annie smiled when she saw her familiar red suitcase as well as her violin case and backpack.

"The bathroom is right down the hall whenever you're ready", Ginny said before giving her some privacy. Annie took a second to look through her backpack and make sure that everything was still there. Her phone, ipod, books, and pencil pouch were all there, as well as some very soggy sheet music. With a sigh, Annie took that out and spread it across her bed to dry. She then grabbed a spare change of clothes, her toiletries bag, and a towel that had been left for her, and headed to the bathroom. After taking a shower and changing, Annie felt like a brand new person.

She quickly looked in the mirror and applied a bit of makeup before heading back to drop her stuff off at Ginny's room. Upon walking back out to the kitchen, she saw that Ron had vanished somewhere and Ginny, Fred, and George were the only ones left. The twins looked up when she entered and George raised his eyebrows.

"Wow, you actually look like a human being now" he said with a cheeky grin.

Annie only glared at him before taking a seat next to Ginny. Fred remained silent and only looked at her as she struck up a conversation with Ginny about Hogwarts. Occasionally she would laugh at whatever joke Ginny was telling.

 _Merlin she's beautiful_ , thought Fred.

"Come on Fred, let's go work on some joke shop stuff, eh?" George said, shaking Fred out of his concentration. Fred followed his twin upstairs without another look at Annie.

Hello again everyone! Thanks for sticking with me, I'm so excited to get to the good stuff at Hogwarts, which will be here soon. Thank you so so much to my first reviewer, JahnavilovesFaNFICS, I'm so glad that you're enjoying it so far. Thanks everyone!


	5. Chapter 5

JK Rowling owns everything except for my character Annabelle (Annie) Winston. :)

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Later that day, Annie met Professor McGonagall, and she took an immediate liking to her. Professor McGonagall was a no nonsense kind of woman who had the occasional funny tidbit to throw in.

"Now Ms. Winston, you have a lot to catch up on. You'll be lucky if you get through your first year curriculum by the time you arrive at Hogwarts. That's what we'll aim for, and hopefully you can work on second and third year when you're there. We'll have you do one day of classes with the sixth years and see how you feel and whether you should continue then, alright?"

Annie nodded, feeling a bit overwhelmed about all of the work. After McGonagall left, she immediately closed her eyes and took a moment to herself. But of course, in the Weasley household, that never lasted long. The twins both collapsed on either side of her, snapping her back to reality.

"So what did old McGonagall say?"

"That I have a lot of work", Annie muttered, wondering what else she possibly could have said.

"Well then grumpy pants, if you have a lot of work then you need a lot of books, eh?"

Annie turned to the twin who talked, noticed it was Fred, and raised an eyebrow at him.

"What a brilliant deduction there Fred. Where exactly do I get books anyways?"

Fred blinked at her before looking at his twin.

"How the bloody hell did she know it was me? Mum still gets us mixed up."

Annie just smiled while the two bickered around her, making goofy faces at each other in an effort to figure out how she did it.

"Anyways, we're all going to Diagon Alley today, you can get your books there", George said, which caught Annie's attention.

She perked up a bit, wondering what Diagon Alley was.

"Be ready-"

"We leave in 10 minutes" the twins said before vanishing upstairs with a laugh.

Annie smiled after them, wishing that she could be with her sisters during this confusing time. Annie had been excited to go back home and spend time with them. They would sit at the local coffee shop down the street and gossip about people from school. Becca would mostly listen and then talk about her friends from Arizona, where she went to college. It would be a normal day back in Texas, abysmally hot and sunny, spending lazy hours by the pool with her family. Annie missed it more than anything.

And yet Annie couldn't help but feel like she was on the brink of something amazing, of discovering a new side of herself that she never knew existed. So when Mrs. Weasley came to check up on her and announced that they would be taking a car to Diagon Alley, she was ready for anything.

They all piled in the car, Annabelle clutching her backpack tightly. They arrived in front of a rather dingy looking pub called The Leaky Cauldron. As they were leaving the car, Annie saw an ATM down the street. She quickly got out and withdrew money from her card, knowing she would probably be buying books.

When they arrived inside, it looked rather ordinary, and when they stepped out behind the pub and came face to face with a brick wall, it still looked ordinary. Then Mrs. Weasley tapped the bricks and they melted away to reveal the most amazing sight. There stood a bustling street of people in cloaks, going about their day. Rows of shops gathered on either side of the street, each brightly colored and strange looking.

"Right then, let's get to Gringotts." Mrs. Weasley said before taking GInny's hand and leading them forward. It was hard to keep up as Annie kept taking in every detail. Occasionally, one of the twins would gently push her forward until they reached Gringotts. They made a quick stop inside so Annie could transfer her muggle money and receive Wizard currency.

Then the first stop was Ollivander's wand shop.

By this point, Annie was practically skipping down the street with glee, excited to be getting her first wand. The whole Weasley family was laughing at her antics, having only seen the serious side of Annie before now.

When Annie eagerly threw the door open and stepped into the dimly lit shop, even the slightly creepy appearance of Mr. Ollivander could not bring her down.

"Well, it's about time we had you in Ms. Winston" the old man said with a smile before turning to find a wand for her.

Annie frowned a bit in confusion, not knowing how he would know who she is. But when he laid that first wand out for her, she didn't care.

"Hawthorne and unicorn hair, 9 and a quarter inches, rigid", he explained as she slowly picked it up.

Annie turned around to look at the twins with big eyes, not knowing what to do. They were looking through the window, making waving motions like madmen and it made Annie start to giggle. She turned around and gave the wand a wave. Something in the back promptly exploded, causing Annie to panic slightly. Before she even knew it, the wand was snatched from her hand and replaced with another. Another whirl, and that one was tossed aside as well. By the time Annie had made it to her fifth wand, she was exhausted and embarrassed.

"My dear, are you a musician?" Ollivander shouted from the backroom.

"Yes sir," Annie replied hesitantly, "I play piano and violin".

Now Ollivander came out with a small smile on his face. In his hands was a beautiful wand, with swirling designs spiraling up from the handle which had been stained a dark cherry color.

As Annie touched the wand it sprang to life, emitting a warm glow that sent her heart racing.

"Rosewood, typically used to create nice wood instruments. It was an experiment from a long time ago. Dragon heartstring, 10 and three quarters, very bendy" Ollivander said with a satisfied smile.

"You are a very special witch indeed Ms. Winston. Very unique, just like that wand."

Annie glanced at him questioningly but he simply smiled at her, offering no explanation for his words. She placed the wand in the case that he had held out to her and quickly paid before leaving with a smile on her face.

After that she went and bought all of her books for first through third year, as well as sixth year. Then they stopped for some ice cream and Annie finally had time to ponder Ollivander's words. How was Annie supposed to be special? She didn't even know magic, she was so late to the game. Yet Annie felt so different, like she could tackle the hurdle that was being an inexperienced witch. From across the street of Florean Fortescue's, Annie spotted Magical Menagerie. She fixed her stare on a black cat sitting in the window of the shop, meowing at each person what walked by insistently. Annie's leg bounced up and down a few times as she debated the pros and cons in her head. Then she quickly handed her ice cream to George, who promptly finished what was left without asking, and ran inside the shop. 10 minutes later, she was walking out with a pet carrier and a big smile on her face.

"Meet Bob", she said to the twins, who both thought that was the most ridiculous name for a cat that they had ever heard.

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Hi everyone! It's been a bit since my last update, and a lot has happened. I would have updated sooner, but my apartment complex had a natural disaster issue, so I've been a bit busy dealing with that. Everything is fine though, which is good! Thanks for continuing to read! :)


	6. Chapter 6

JK Rowling owns everything except for my character. :)

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Several weeks now passed by as a pattern emerged for the summer. Annie would wake up in the morning and practice flying with Ginny and the twins, Ron joining occasionally. Then she would spend the afternoon studying on the floor by the fireplace in the living room, Bob the cat laying in the nearby armchair dozing Annie would end her evening of studying when the twins joined her to discuss their plans to start a joke shop. She would come up with crazy ideas with them and they would find some sort of spell or potion ingredient that might work for it. Her nights were usually filled with laughter, especially when the twins taught her exploding snap.

When mid August had rolled around and the Weasleys were preparing for the Quidditch World Cup, Annie had already finished with her first year curriculum and was moving on to second year.

By now, Hermione and Harry were both here. It was nice having Hermione around because she was happy to help Annie with her studies so the process went much faster. Hermione and Harry would also sit and talk with Annie about the muggle world, seeing as they were the only ones who had really lived in it.

Sometimes Annie would pick up her violin and play for a bit. When she did, the house would become quiet as everybody listened in to the sounds of Bach. However Annie was really itching to play the piano again, though knowing that it wasn't an option. The night before the World Cup, Annie was laying in front of the fireplace yet again while Fred and George were planning jokes for their shop. Instead of participating, Annie had found her old ipod and decided to listen to music.

She had begun to feel a little worn out and homesick. In her headphones, Temptation by Moby was playing. Suddenly she felt someone lay down next to her and take one earbud out, placing it in their ear. Annie turned to the side and saw that Fred was beside her, listening intently to the music. She turned back to the ceiling and closed her eyes.

After what felt like a long time, Fred spoke.

"You know, your music isn't very fun. It's good, just sort of depressing."

Annie didn't say anything, but she could feel Fred looking at her.

"Well", Annie started with a deep sigh, "I'm feeling a bit homesick tonight."

Fred nodded in understanding before looking back up at the ceiling as well. Instead of continuing to speak, they just layed there in silence. Annie appreciated that he didn't talk too much right now. She felt like all she did was study and talk, and it was getting to be a bit exhausting.

"I'm not very good with people" Annie said quietly.

"Oh I know" Fred said with a smile.

Annie snorted and looked over at him. In the light of the fireplace, Annie noticed the freckles that spotted his cheeks, the only difference between him and George, and also her secret weapon that helped her tell them apart.

"We all like you though", Fred said, "You have a family with you right here. Don't get too caught up in how your life used to be. You're living something new and exciting."

Annie smiled at his surprisingly sweet advice, finding that she liked this caring side of Fred.

"Besides, you've got two very dashing young twins to help you find your way" he said with a wink in her direction.

Annie snorted but couldn't help laughing and jokingly slapping his shoulder. When Fred looked over at her giggling to herself, he had that same nagging thought in his head.

 _Merlin she's beautiful._

* * *

Arthur Weasley and the boys, plus Hermione, left the next morning for the World Cup. Annie wouldn't be going, as much as she wanted to. There was simply too much work that she needed to catch up on, and September 1st was right around the corner. It was nice to have the house to herself and Mrs. Weasley. They had a nice conversation about cooking, seeing as Mrs. Weasley was a brilliant magical cook and Annie had been taught everything that her father knew about muggle cooking. After a long day of studying, Annie was dozing off in front of the fireplace when she was awoken by the sharp sound of apparition. She jolted up and went to the door, opening it to find everyone home and looking exhausted.

"What happened? I thought you would be staying the night there" Annie asked with concern, noting the serious looks on everyone's faces.

Mrs. Weasley too had come down at this point, wondering what was going on. Mr. Weasley quickly explained what had happened, only pausing to give Annie a knowing glance when she visibly paled at the mention of deatheaters.

Everyone quickly went to bed after that, exhausted from the nights events.

* * *

Following the disaster at the World Cup, the summer flew by with Annie feeling more exhausted than ever. The night before September 1st, Annie was up late finishing the last assignment for her second year curriculum.

"Done!" Annie said with a proud smile as she slammed her last essay on the floor, beginning to pack her stuff up. The twins looked up from their notes on the joke shop in wonder.

"How the bloody hell did you do it Annie?" George asked.

"I had far too much time on my hands, and really it's not hard stuff to understand. Maybe if I was twelve it would be hard, but I'm 16. It was child's work really." Annie said with an eye roll.

At that, the twins looked at each other and shook their heads in wonder. Annie then announced that she was going to bed early and when her head hit the pillow, she was out.

The next morning, everyone witnessed a rare sight. Annie was yet again practically bouncing with excitement. While she was usually quite composed, the Weasleys got to see rare instances where she just couldn't control herself, and today was one of those days.

At breakfast, Annie had her headphones on and was dancing around the kitchen as she grabbed a cereal box and poured herself a bowl. She then poured milk in, picked up the bowl and a spoon, and promptly danced her way out of the kitchen to her room. All while this was happening, Mrs Weasley stopped her cooking to watch while the twins sat at the table laughing merrily.

While on their way to the station, Annie still had her headphones in and was nodding her head to the music. At one point during the car ride to King's Cross, Fred pulled an earbud out and shouted in her ear. Needless to say, she did not appreciate the gesture, even if George thought it was hilarious.

By the time they had crossed through to platform 9 and ¾ and boarded the station, Annie was positively giddy.

"I mean, that's so awesome! You literally have to run through an invisible wall to get to the platform! Imagine how hilarious it would've been if it hadn't worked!" She continued gushing all while they walked down the the train looking for a compartment.

When they finally sat down, Annie had relaxed a bit. Instead she looked out the window and smiled as Mrs. Weasley waved at them and the train finally began to move. As the station disappeared and gave way to rolling hills, Annie leaned back and smiled, giggling slightly in disbelief at where she was.

Fred and George looked over at her fondly before offering to start up a game of exploding up. However, the compartment door opened and a boy came in and sat next to George, already talking animatedly.

"Oi Lee", the boy, Lee apparently, looked towards Fred.

"This is Annie mate, she's coming to Hogwarts"

Upon looking at Annie, he stopped and stared for a bit. Then he shook himself out of his trance and stuck out his hand, a flirtatious smile accompanying it.

"Hullo there, I'm Lee Jordan" he said with a wink.

Annie gave the sweetest and most sarcastic smile she could muster, but didn't move an inch towards his hand.

"Pleasure" she said with a fake niceness about her.

The twins snorted in amusement while Lee laughed good naturedly and leaned back in his seat. The four then started playing a game of exploding snap to pass the time.

About halfway through the train ride, Annie got up and grabbed her backpack from above.

"Scooch, I'm going to go change before the bathrooms get crowded", she said while shoving Fred's abnormally long legs out of the way.

As soon as the door shut behind her, Lee was leaning forward ready to talk.

"Why the hell didn't you two tell me you had a beauty like that staying with you?" he said in annoyance.

"Why would we even think about telling you Lee?" Fred said with an eye roll and a look at his brother.

"Because she's a bloody goddess that's why!" Lee exclaimed, looking at George for back up.

George shrugged his shoulder, "Sure she's pretty, but we unlike you have higher standards than just looks mate" he said with a grin.

Lee just scoffed and shoved his shoulder. Meanwhile Fred was looking at the two, feeling a bit awkward about the conversation. Sure he knew that Annie was beautiful, but he had only really ever thought about it in passing.

Annie chose to walk back in at this time as Fred and George started trying to dare each other to try weird looking Bertie Bott's beans. Annie laughed when Fred's face turned red upon getting a vomit flavored candy. Although Fred's tastebuds were suffering, he still noticed how her slightly curly, short brown hair bounced when she laughed. He also noticed how her green eyes brightened and a dimple formed on her cheek as she smiled. He looked away to find his twin looking intently at him with raised eyebrows. Fred responded to his look by throwing a black speckled bean at him that he was sure was pepper flavored.

"Your turn mate"

Laughing could be heard from three compartments down, but nobody cared. They were all distracted by the look of horror on George's face.

* * *

Thanks for reading, and please review!


	7. Chapter 7

JK Rowling owns everything except for my character. :)

* * *

Upon arriving at Hogwarts, Annie was separated and sent on the boats with the first years. While it was a bit awkward sitting with a bunch of 11 year olds, none of it mattered when Annie caught her first glimpse of the school. It was a moment that she would never forget. On the banks of the black lake sat a very ancient looking castle, emitting a warm and inviting glow from inside. Annie sat back and stared in awe, ignoring the excited whisperings of the first years around her. Annie knew in that moment that she was meant to be here, that every waking moment was leading her towards Hogwarts.

Once inside, she waited with the other students outside of the Great Hall. Then Professor McGonagall walked up in her emerald robes, very stern as usual. She lined us up with me in the front, giving me a warm pat on the shoulder and a smile of encouragement. I smiled at her before we were lead into the Great Hall. The first years behind me started speaking again in excitement at how amazing everything looked. Annie however was completely focused on the stool at the front, wanting to get this sorting over with as quickly as possible.

After listening to the song, McGonagall picked up the hat and her list of names.

"Winston, Annabelle!"

Annie could hear everyone whispering, wondering why someone so much older was only just now being sorted. When Annie sat on the chair, the hat was placed on her head and quickly sprang to life.

"Hmmm yes, well it's about time. Yes yes , very smart, very smart indeed. You would be a good fit for Ravenclaw, a thirst for knowledge yes. But also some courage I see, hmm. A bit of a tricky one aren't you?"

Annie smiled at this, closing her eyes and waiting for the hat to make its decision.

"GRYFFINDOR!"

An uproar sounded from one of the middle of the tables, and Annie opened her eyes as McGonagall took the hat off of her head. Annie spotted Fred and George standing and shouting like madmen and she ran over and took a seat in between them. They both instantly wrapped their arms around her and cheered a bit more before they were shushed.

As the other first years were being sorted, Annie took a moment to look around her. The Great Hall was huge. At the front sat the teachers, while the students sat at four longer tables. The ceiling seemed to be gone, replaced with the night sky, and there were candles floating in midair. Annie loved it.

Dumbledore began speaking at this point.

"Now we're all settled in and sorted, I'd like to make an announcement. This castle will not only be your home this year, but home to some very special guests as well. You see Hogwarts has been chosen-"

At this point, a haggard looking man ran up to Dumbledore, whispered something to him quickly, and ran back out. Annie watched with raised eyebrows, wondering what was going on.

"So Hogwarts has been chosen to host a legendary event. The Tri-Wizard tournament. Now for those of you who do not know, the tri-wizard tournament brings together three schools for a series of magical contests. From each school a single contestant is selected to compete. Now let me be clear, if chosen you stand alone. And trust me when I say these contests are not for the faint hearted, but more of that later. For now, please join me in welcoming the lovely ladies of the Beauxbatons Academy of Magic and their headmistress Madam Maxime."

A group of girls in pale blue uniforms ran up the middle of the Great Hall, occasionally releasing butterflies with a sigh. While Annie was unimpressed, one glance around told her that every boy at the table was mesmerized. Annie rolled her eyes and promptly swatted both twins to get them to close their mouths and glanced back to find a very tall woman coming up and shaking Dumbledore's hand and taking a seat at the head table.

"And now our friends from the north, please greet the proud sons of Durmstrang and their high master, Igor Karkaroff." Dumbledore said with a flourish of his hand.

Then a bunch of tough looking boys walked down the Great Hall brandishing what looked like staffs. Some of the boys ran and did cool back flips and tricks, and even blew fire at one point.

"Blimey, it's him. It's Viktor Krum", Annie heard Ron whisper as the Durmstrang students finished up.

After the show, food appeared on the table. Amazed, Annie laughed and immediately began loading her plate with food. Throughout dinner, Annie was introduced to several other Gryffindors. First there was Angelina Johnson, then Alicia Spinnet, and Katie Bell, who were all on the Gryffindor quidditch team. Harry , Ron, and Hermione were sitting a ways down the table, but they made sure to wave at her at one point. Dinner was a fun affair, in which Fred and George joked around with everyone and started the occasional mini food fight.

"Your attention please!", Dumbledore had stood yet again. "I would like to say a few words. Eternal glory, that is what awaits the student who wins the tri-wizard tournament. But to do this that student must survive three tasks. Three extremely dangerous tasks."

"Wicked" the twins said simultaneously while keeping a close eye on what Dumbledore said next.

"For this reason the ministry has seen fit to impose a new rule. To explain all this we have the head of the department of international magic cooperation, Mister Bartimus Crouch." Dumbledore then gave the floor to an official looking man.

 _He looks a bit squeamish,_ Annie thought.

However, the ceiling above decided to pour rain for no reason. Lightning shot out towards the ceiling and the raining promptly stopped. Annie glanced in the direction where the lightning bolt came from and saw a strange man standing in the doorway. He had a strap-on eye and a wooden peg for a leg. He walked up to Dumbledore, shook his hand, then took a swig of his flask and sat at the head table.

"I wonder what he's sipping on there" Annie said with a smirk towards George, who just snorted in response.

Mr. Crouch now took this time to finish what he was going to say.

"After much deliberation, the ministry has concluded that for their own safety no student under the age of seventeen shall be allowed to put forth their name for the tri-wizard tournament. This decision is final."

While Annie didn't care one bit, this put everyone, including the twins, in a frenzy. Everyone began booing, the twins shouting at Crouch.

"That's rubbish!"

Annie paid them no mind, and soon Dumbledore had silenced them once again.

He also quickly removed a cover from something in the front. The cover fell to reveal a large silver and blue goblet, shining brightly in the Hall.

"Wow" Annie whispered. The sight of the cup even made Annie want to enter the tournament.

The goblet brandished a blue flame.

"The goblet of fire. Anyone wishing to submit themselves for the tournament merely write their name upon a piece of parchment and throw it in the flame before this hour on Thursday night. Do not do so lightly, if chosen there's no turning back. As from this moment the tri-wizard tournament has begun."

After dinner, everyone was led up to the Gryffindor common room. Upon walking in, Annie immediately saw the roaring fireplace and knew that the common room would be her favorite place to be. Fred and George bid Annie goodnight with a ruffle of her short hair before heading up to their dormitory. Laughing, Annie walked up to her room, noting that Angelina, Alicia, and Katie were her roommates.

Annie immediately unpacked and set a picture of her and her family on the nightstand by her four-poster bed. She also taped a moving picture of her and Fred and George on the wall, having not gotten a frame yet. Then she set up her music stand with her violin and some sheet music on the other side of her bed.

"So Annie," Alicia started, "how do you know the twins?"

She was sitting on her bed across from mine, clutching a pillow and looking at me with a friendly smile. The other girls looked up at this in interest, but continued unpacking.

"Well I'm sort of new to the magical world, so the Weasleys took me in and I've been staying with them for a while" Annie said while continuing to put stuff in her nightstand.

Alicia nodded in understanding while Angelina collapsed on her bed with a big sigh.

"Fred Weasley is smashing" Angelina said with a giggle.

Alicia snorted and smacked Angelina with her pillow at that.

"Get over it Angelina, he's oblivious when it comes to girls" she said with an eye roll.

Angelina only grabbed the pillow and smacked Alicia back with a laugh.

"Oh please, I bet I can snag him by Christmas" she said as they both laughed and laid back down.

Katie rolled her eyes while smiling and getting into bed.

"Don't mind them, they're a bit dramatic", she said pointedly while glancing at them.

I only smiled, knowing I would get along very well with everyone here.

* * *

The next morning, Annie awoke bright and early to get ready for her first day of classes. As she looked in the mirror after applying a bit of makeup and putting on her robes, Annie was surprised at how different she already looked from before. By now, her hair was starting to grow out, just coming past the tops of her shoulders. The school robes were so different from muggle clothes, and the Gryffindor patch was shining proudly on her pocket. She couldn't help but feel a bit of apprehension before leaving for breakfast.

When arriving at the Great Hall, she sat at the edge of the Gryffindor table, noting that there was the occasional Beauxbatons or Durmstrang student up as well.

Soon enough Annie was joined by the golden trio, who were still gossiping about the tri-wizard tournament.

"Who do you think is going to put their name in from Hogwarts?" Ron asked excitedly.

Annie looked up from the book she was reading at this.

"Parvarti had mentioned that Cedric Diggory was thinking about putting his name in" Hermione said matter of factly.

"Your brothers were brainstorming ways to cross the aging line that Dumbledore drew up" Annie said while turning back to her book.

"Please, they'll never fool Dumbledore" Hermione said.

Annie nodded in agreement before she felt her hair being ruffled. She turned with a glare as the twins sat next to her laughing.

"You just watch and see love,"

"We'll be crossing that age line in no time", the twins said while loading their plates.

Angelina and Alicia soon came and joined for breakfast right as McGonagall starting passing out schedules.

"Looks like we have double potions to start" Alicia said sullenly.

Annie however was most excited for potions, even though she had been warned about Snape before.

Fred turned to her and started pulling her hair.

"You know your hair is starting to get quite long for you", he said while attempting to braid it.

"Yes well do you see a hairdresser nearby Freddie?" Annie asked in between bites of toast.

"You're a cheeky one aren't you?", he said before giving her hair another tug.

Annie noticed that Angelina and Alicia were giving her strange looks, and Annie quickly cleared her throat and pulled her hair away from Fred. He blinked once at her, shrugged, and went back to eating his eggs.

Angelina took this time to strike up a conversation with Fred. Annie couldn't help but watch as they laughed together at whatever George jumped in with. Angelina really did exude light and happiness. She seemed a bit tomboyish but she was also quite pretty. _She's perfect for Fred really_ , Annie thought.

Suddenly her stomach felt a bit queasy and Annie looked down at her plate before starting to pack up the book that she had abandoned when the twins arrived.

 _Perhaps I ate something weird at dinner last night,_ Annie thought quickly before getting up .

"Well, I'm going to try to get to potions early. See you guys there." she said quickly with a wave.

Everyone smiled at her, though Annie noticed that Angelina wasn't paying her any mind. She was still looking at Fred. As Annie walked away, she got out her ipod and put her headphones in. Glass in the Park by Alex Turner began playing, and she smiled quietly before roaming the halls in order to find the dungeons.

When she finally got to the classroom, she only saw a few others there, namely a couple of hufflepuffs chatting amongst themselves. Annie found an empty table near the back and waited for the others to arrive. About 10 minutes later, she heard them arrive, but she decided to keep her nose in her book instead of looking up. For some reason, Annie didn't want to watch Fred and Angelina flirt with each other.

"Hullo Annie" Katie Bell said with a smile as she sat down next to her.

Annie smiled at her and replied.

Double potions was not nearly as bad as everyone said it would be. Snape gave a very fast and quiet lecture for the first hour before letting them begin making the Draught of Living Death potion. It was simple really, Annie thought. All you have to do is follow the instructions on the board. The sopophorous bean was a bit jumpy and it frustrated Annie to no end, but eventually she was able to capture it in mid leap and cut it. When Snape made his round, he raised an eyebrow at Annie's cauldron, sneered at Katie's, then moved on. Annie supposed that the lack of a reaction was a good thing with that man.

Next was a free period, Annie realized happily as she packed up her stuff. Katie had already left with a quick goodbye while the twins came up to walk with her.

"Alright there Annie?" George said with a smile.

She nodded back and grabbed the bag that he held out towards her.

"Wanna go help us put dung bombs in Filch's office?" Fred asked with a wink.

"Definitely" Annie laughed while they ran off.

The rest of the day was uneventful, unless you can count Annie being very confused by the rest of her classes. By the end of the day, her head was spinning and she had created a fort of books in the library in order to do her homework. The twins were probably off causing mayhem somewhere, but Annie had far too much work to do. After completing her potions essay on the Draught of Living Death, Annie started working on her third year curriculum. Before she knew it, it was dark outside, and Annie had missed dinner.

On her way back up to common room, she ran into the twins coming from the Great Hall.

"Oi Winston" one of them called out to her.

"Where were you? It's not like you to miss a meal" Fred said with a wink.

"Studying, there's just so much to get done" Annie said, while she fell in line with them.

"Well Fred"

"Yeah George?"

"I suppose we outta show her the Kitchens, eh?"

* * *

So I know that I didn't update for a while, so I'm posting this chapter along with chapter 6! I also only recently realized how short my chapters were, so here's a longer one. Thanks and please review!


	8. Chapter 8

Hi everyone, I just wanted to take a second to respond to some reviews!

Izaria- I'm really glad that you're liking the fic so far! And yes I did mention ipods, I'm taking a few liberties as a writer. I know that technology doesn't work at Hogwarts and that it's also a bit early for ipods to be around, but I needed an easy way to incorporate music into the story. Maybe I should use a walkman instead to at least be time period accurate? Let me know what you think, and thank you for reviewing!

Littlecosma001- Thank you so much! Here's the next chapter for you!

As usual, JK Rowling owns everything except for my character :)

* * *

Annie knew that Harry's name would come out of the goblet. She just knew. Based off of stories from the twins, that boy had a knack for getting himself into trouble, and mind you not the good kind. Nothing could've prepared Annie for the danger he had gotten himself in this time though.

The first task had arrived, and Harry was about to go on.

" Three of our champions have now faced their dragons and so each one of them will proceed to the next task. And now our fourth and final contestant." Dumbledore said in a magnified voice over the stadium.

As Harry walked out into the stadium, he looked around.

"He looks lost", Annie said in disbelief.

That didn't last long though because the dragon soon spotted him. He spent a while dodging the dragon's fire before he finally heard Hermione yelling at him.

"Your wand Harry! Your wand!" she shouted desperately.

Finally, Harry summoned his broom and flew out of the stadium, barely making it out of there. Annie meanwhile had Fred's arm in a death grip, terrified of what would happen.

"Geez woman, you're going to cut off my circulation. Harry'll be fine" Fred said, shaking his arm out of her grip.

"Yeah, he has a knack for evading death." George said with a grin.

Needless to say, the twins were right, and the common room was filled with people celebrating Harry's victory. Even Annie was feeling quite happy at his fortune, though she didn't relax until the twins had her try their secret stash of firewhiskey.

Annie was having a quiet conversation with Katie near the fireplace, watching as the twins hoisted Harry up onto their shoulders.

Katie was rambling about something, but Annie just continued watching the twins while sipping her firewhiskey, feeling a bit dizzy.

"You like him don't you?"

Annie hummed in question and slowly turned towards Katie, who was looking at her with a sly smile on her face.

"I don't know what your talking about", Annie said, looking anywhere but at Katie or the twins.

" Oh come on Annie, it's obvious. That's why Angelina is ignoring you now, she feels threatened by you." Katie had become serious, but Annie was finding it hard to focus.

"Why would she be jealous of me? Even if I did like him, which I don't by the way, there's nothing there." Annie said.

 _This conversation is not going how I wanted it to_ , Annie though as she took an even bigger swig of her drink.

"You really are that oblivious, aren't you?" Katie said with a shake of her head.

Annie turned sharply at that, not appreciating the jab at her.

Then a piercing shriek sounded, causing Annie to nearly spit out her drink. It didn't last long, and when Annie looked over, she saw that the twins had dropped Harry and everyone was looking at him and that damn golden egg in his hands.

"Alright, well that sobered me up," Annie said while handing Katie her drink.

Katie only shook her head and watched Annie go sit on the couch. She watched as the twins came and started joking around with Annie, instantly bringing her mood back. Katie wondered if Annie realized that the first person she looked at when she was alarmed was Fred. She also wondered if Annie realized that those twins were the only ones that really made her laugh.

* * *

The air outside had gone cold as December arrived. Frost lined the windows and a heavy layer of snow covered the grounds of Hogwarts. Annie sat by the window of an empty classroom staring longingly at the snow. Having grown up in Texas, she hardly ever saw snow.

"The Yule ball has been a tradition of the tri-wizard tournament since its inception. On Christmas eve night we and our guests gather in the Great Hall for well-mannered frivolity. As representatives of the host school I expect each and every one of you to put your best foot forward, and I mean this literally because the Yule ball is first and foremost...a dance." McGonagall pulled Annie's attention back to the matter at hand.

 _So that's why she separated the boys and girls,_ Annie thought.

Angelina and Alicia started whispering to each other excitedly while Annie slouched against the wall and made a face of annoyance at the twins. When growing up, Annie was forced to attend cotillion and go to several dances. She was quite good at dancing, but wasn't a big fan of it.

"Silence. The house of Godric Griffindor has commanded the respect of the wizard world for nearly ten centuries. I will not have you in the course of a single evening besmirching that name by behaving like a babbling, bumbling band of baboons."

Annie cracked a smile at this, and saw the twins quickling trying to repeat what McGonagall had said.

"Now to dance is to let the body breathe, inside every girl a secret swan slumbers longing to burst forth and take flight." McGonagall continued with a smile towards the ladies. Annie proceeded to raise an eyebrow at that, though at least she didn't mutter something rather loudly like Ron.

"Inside every boy a lordly lion prepared to prance. Mr. Weasley, will you join me."

 _Brilliant_ , Annabelle thought as McGonagall set her sights on poor Ronald.

"Now place your right hand on my waist" she said, gesturing towards her.

Ron didn't move.

"My waist" McGonagall repeats.

He does so and Annie quickly wolf whistles.

"Now bend your arm. Mr. Filch."

Filch starts up the music, a slow waltz that actually had quite a nice melody.

They demonstrated a bit for us, though Annie had her eyes closed in order to listen to the music.

"Everybody come together", McGonagall called above the music, releasing Ron.

All of the girls immediately stood, though Annie just sat back on the wall. Finally the boys moved and so Annie heaved a big sigh and got up.

Annie immediately noticed Angelina move to Fred and they joked around pretending to dance. She rolled her eyes at the two before making eye contact with Harry.

"You know you should really be practicing, you'll have to do this dance in front of everyone." Annie told him matter of factly.

"What?" he said in disbelief.

"Come on, up. Let me help you." Annie said quickly.

She quickly showed him the basic step and they practiced that for a bit. Then she started incorporating loops and turns in. He actually was quite good. Then George stepped in and proceeded to twirl and dip Annie until her head was spinning and her laughter could be heard from across the room.

* * *

During study hall, Annie was working diligently on her assignments, but continued to be distracted by Harry and Ron's hushed conversation.

"This is mad. At this rate, we'll be the only ones in our year without dates." Ron said quickly. Snape came by and shoved Ron's head back into his book.

"Well, us and Neville."

Annie rolled her eyes as he continued to talk.

"It might interest you to know that Neville's already got someone." Hermione said quietly.

"Well now I'm really depressed" said Ron.

Fred was writing a message at this point and Annie leaned over to look.

 _Get a move on or all the good ones will have gone._

"Ugh, pig", she whispered before going back to her work.

Fred threw the note at Ron when he wasn't looking.

Ron just shrugged at him in frustration. Then Fred proceeded to throw a wad of paper at Angelina. He mimed going to the ball as his funny way of asking her. Angelina looked at him flirtatiously and quickly said yes. Then she turned to her friends and they started giggling. Fred didn't even notice Annie's raised eyebrows as she turned and tried to focus on her work.

"Well Hermione, you're a girl" Ron said as he turned towards her.

"Oh well spotted" She responded without looking up.

Annie snorted at this.

"Come on, it's one thing for a bloke to show up alone. For a girl it's just sad."

 _That wasn't sexist,_ Annie thought sarcastically.

"I won't be going alone because believe it or not, someone's asked me." At that, Hermione got up and turned in her work to Snape.

"And I said yes" she claimed before storming off.

Annie followed quickly after her without even looking at Fred.

* * *

Annie sat by the fire that night and really thought about what she was feeling. Without even realizing it, her feelings for Fred had snuck up on her. She wasn't really sure when it happened, but the incident with Angelina today proved that those feelings were there.

When the boys came into the common room, George stayed behind to sit with Annie.

"Hey there" he said quietly.

"Hi", she responded, curling her legs up and resting her head on her knees as she continued watching the fire.

"So the Yule ball..."

Annie turned towards George at this point with a raised eyebrow at this point.

"What about the damn ball?"

"You wanna go with me?" he asked with a small smile.

Annie narrowed her eyes at him, confused.

"Why would you want to go with me?" she asked.

"Because you're my friend, and I can tell when you're hurting." he said, looking at her with a sad smile.

"I don't need your pity George", she said while turning back to the fire.

"I'm not doing it because I feel bad for you Annie."

"Then why are you asking me?" She had turned back towards him now.

He placed his hand on her hand.

"Because it'll be bloody fun to go with you" he said with a smile and a pat on her hand.

Annie smiled at George then, wondering how she had gotten so lucky to have such a good friend.

"Alright Georgie, I'll go with you."

* * *

Thanks and please review! :)


	9. Chapter 9

As usual, I own nothing except for my character! :)

Littlecosma001- Thank you so much, I really appreciate that you're enjoying it so far! :)

Izaria- Thank you for your feedback, it's really helpful! I hope you enjoy the next chapter!

* * *

Annie looked in the mirror on the afternoon of the Yule ball. Her hair had gotten quite long now, past her shoulders. Glancing behind her, she saw that the other girls were looking through Witch Weekly and using their wands to get ready. Meanwhile, Annie was armed with her muggle tools, namely a straightening iron and muggle makeup. She sighed and got to work. Eventually Annie helped Katie get ready as well. She was wearing a beautiful gold gown with a deep V neck that Annie had helped her pick out.

Meanwhile, Annie was wearing a one shoulder, satin gown that was bright red with a high low hemline that was lined with ruffles. She had decided to put her hair in loose curls and just leave it down and tousled. She had accented this with dark makeup and matching lipstick, as well as strappy black heels.

Angelina and Alicia had already gone downstairs to meet their dates while Annie and Katie remained upstairs finishing up. When they finally walked down to the common room, they saw the twins and Lee Jordan sitting with Angelina and Alicia. They all looked up as Katie and Annie walked over to them.

George got up and gave Annie a quick hug.

"Well now, don't you look halfway decent" he said with a wink.

"My good sir, you flatter me so", Annie responded with a laugh.

They smiled at each other before she took his arm and they followed everyone out. Annie didn't even notice that as Fred and Angelina followed them, his eyes were only on her. Even as Angelina continued to make conversation with him, he didn't hear a single word she said.

"Good job," George said, "There's no way Freddie will be able to keep his eyes off of you".

Annie smiled at George before patting his hand.

"I didn't dress up for him, I dressed up for myself."

* * *

Annie and George clapped as the four champions walked out and started dancing. To my surprise, Harry actually did quite well with the steps, though the music was much faster than when we had practiced. Soon enough George led her onto the dance floor to join with the others. They danced across the floor rather gracefully and Annie was actually having a very nice time. They talked while dancing, mostly thinking up pranks for next week. Sometimes Annie's eyes would come across Fred and Angelina dancing, but she was having such a good time that she didn't care about them.

"So, you and Fred then", George started, looking at Annie with a smile.

"I'd rather not talk about it actually" Annie said while glancing around the room.

"Really?" George asked with an eyebrow raised.

Annie smiled at him and was sure to look directly into his eyes.

"There's no point in pining over someone who isn't interested. I'm over it", she said with a shrug.

And she was. Annie had put Fred in a box and shoved it into the back of her mind long before the Yule ball. She would not have any surprises, she would remain composed.

George was seeing yet another different side of Annie, a cool and calculating one. It scared him a bit, that Annie could just set aside her feelings for someone she was so close to.

Despite that thought, the two friends had a fantastic time. They spent the entire time dancing wildly to The Weird Sisters, even getting a few strange glances from the students around them. At one point, Annie left to go get some punch and ran into Angelina.

"Hey Angelina", Annie said with a smile.

"Hey Annie, how've things been with you?", Angelina said as she took a small sip of punch.

"Good, just school work."

Angelina nodded at this.

"You and George look very cosy together"

Anne looked at her at this, trying to see what she was up to.

"George and I are just friends," Annie said.

She was met with silence at that.

"And just so you know, Fred is all yours. There's nothing going on between us."

At that Angelina looked at her incredulously.

"Oh", was all she said.

"Sorry, I like to get to the point quickly. Besides, I want us to be friends, and if Fred is the issue then I assure you, there's nothing there."

Angelina smiled at her.

"I'd like to be friends too".

With that, Annie left to go join the twins, who were jumping up and down and shoving people around on the dancefloor.

Angelina was impressed with the girl, not expecting that from her at all. She quickly left and joined them, feeling much better around her.

By the end of the night, Angelina had excused herself, and George and Annie were sitting at an empty table.

"Thanks for asking me to the ball George, I had a really good time"

"No problem shortie"

Annie scowled at the nickname, but didn't respond.

Then a hand was being held out in front of Annie's face. She looked and noticed that the hand belonged to none other than Fred Weasley.

"Come on, I can't let you leave without one dance love"

Annie turned to look at George, who nodded. She took Fred's hand and was led out onto the dancefloor.

They danced slowly to the waltz, but Fred wasn't quite as good of a dancer as his brother. They waltzed in silence for a bit before Fred sighed.

"Would you stop bloody leading already" he said while looking at Annie with a smile.

"Nope" she said, refusing to meet his gaze.

Fred just rolled his eyes and gave her a twirl.

"You look beautiful tonight by the way" Fred said, gazing carefully down at her.

Anie looked up at him at this point. He was looking down at her with cautious eyes, hopeful even, like she was the only person in the room.

 _Probably just imagining things,_ Annie thought.

She saw that George was keeping a very watchful eye on them.

"Thank you," she said, careful not to make eye contact with him again.

She didn't notice when Fred looked away from her, obviously hurt by the lack of attention she offered him.

"So, how did you learn to dance anyway?" he said, trying to put energy back into the conversation.

Annie smiled at his question.

"Well, we had a lot of dances at my muggle school, and I also attended cotillion as a child. I actually really enjoyed dancing when I was a child, but it's sort of lost its effect on me recently."

"Why?" Fred asked as the song came to an end and another started.

"Just wasn't as fun as playing the music I guess. Or maybe I just haven't found the right partner," Annie said with a shrug, looking back at him.

Fred nodded thoughtfully.

"Anyway, how are the joke shop plans coming along?" Annie asked with a smile.

She watched as his face lit up with a big smile, before he started talking animatedly about all the different jokes that they were working on.

"Well, we have an idea about the snacks that'll get students out of class, and…"

Annie listened to everything he said, realizing that their joke shop could really be something special if they ever found the funds for it.

Fred felt weightless when he was talking to her, like nothing else mattered except for her eyes on him.

Eventually though, Annie had to call it a night, feeling tired but happy about how the night had turned out.

They had stopped dancing by now and were just standing in each others arms. Annie gripped Freds arms and gave them a squeeze.

"Goodnight Fred", she said with a smile. And then she was gone and Fred was standing there wondering what exactly that feeling was in his stomach as he watched her leaving.

* * *

The next morning, Annie awoke to the site of a small pile of presents at the foot of her bed. She smiled and immediately moved to open them. From Hermione, she received a book on wizard music and how they made instruments. From Ron, she received an assortment of sweets from Honeydukes, and from Harry she received a piano figurine that was magically animated to play whatever tune you wanted. Annie immediately had it playing Hungarian Rhapsody by Franz Liszt, smiling immediately at the circus like tunes. Next Annie opened the gift from Mrs. Weasley, a large green sweater with a white A knitted in the middle. From George she got various pranks from Zonkos. Annie hesitated when she saw that the last gift was from Fred. She stared at it a bit before finally caving and opening it. Inside was a picture of the two of them. Back at the Burrow, it had become a habit to lay by the fire and listen to music together. One night, Fred had pulled out a wizard camera and had taken a picture of the two of them. Annie watched as Fred gave a cheeky smile while she hid behind her hands and then peeked out with a laugh to see if he was done. Annie loved it, it was certainly better than what she had gotten him, an assortment of muggle candy and a muggle polaroid camera to take normal pictures with. She looked at the picture one last time before putting it in the drawer of her nightstand, it was probably best if Angelina didn't see that.

Then she quickly changed into a pair of black jeans and the sweater from Mrs. Weasley before running downstairs to lay in front of the fireplace and start reading the book that Hermione had gotten her. Everyone was probably still asleep considering it was only 8 in the morning, but Annie was okay with this. Yesterday she had been surrounded by people, so it was nice to have a few hours to herself.

Eventually Annie heard the pounding of feet on stairs as people began coming down for breakfast, laughing and conversing about the Yule ball and their various Christmas presents. She smiled when she heard the familiar voices of the twins coming down, and turned to smile at them before turning back to the fire. They collapsed on either side of her, Fred wrapping an arm around her shoulder without even thinking about it. To be fair though, Annie also thought nothing of it. Or at least that's what she told herself.

They sat and discussed Christmas while waiting for Angelina and Katie to come downstairs. Annie showed them her book from Hermione, which she was already a quarter of the way through with.

"How do you read so quickly? I mean you completed three bloody school years worth of work in the span of one." George said with disbelief.

"Well to be fair, those were essentially crash courses, so it was shorter than what you went through. Also you grew up with magic, this is all new to me. It's way more interesting than muggle school." Annie said with a fond smile.

"I always forget that you haven't been here the whole time", Fred said with a smile.

At that point, everyone else came down the stairs, and Fred immediately got up to greet Angelina. George looked at Annie pointedly, but she wasn't as bothered by it as he thought. She just smiled and said hi to the others before getting up and heading to breakfast with Katie, the others trailing behind.

"So, I saw you and Fred having a moment last night," Katie started with a knowing smile.

Annie only rolled her eyes at Katie's antics.

"Everything was purely platonic Katie. Besides, he's completely head over heels for Angelina, understandably so."

"So you Angelina are friends again then?" Katie asked.

"We're getting along for now, we'll see. Just as long as she doesn't talk about another damn quidditch play around me" Annie said with a laugh.

"You mean as long as she doesn't talk about her extracurricular activities with Fred," Katie winked.

Annie just laughed and playfully bumped her shoulder into Katie's.

"You sure do like to search for drama don't you?" Annie asked.

Katie just sighed while staring off into the distance longingly.

"It's all I live for", she said wistfully.

They laughed at her antics as they walked into the Great Hall.

It was a quiet day at Hogwarts. Everybody went and had a huge snowball fight, in which Fred, George, and Annie mercilessly destroyed everyone. After lunch however, Annie was beginning to feel overwhelmed by everyone. Katie was convinced that she was just overwhelmed with seeing Fred and Angelina flirting, but you would never hear Annie admit that. Either way, Annie found herself back in the common room, practicing various spells and doing the pile of homework that she got before the break. She was beginning to fall behind in her classes as the work became more and more confusing. She simply couldn't understand her sixth year classes without the prior knowledge that she needed. The only class that she seemed to magically understand was potions, though that didn't stop Snape from hating her.

When it began getting dark outside, Annie finally gave up and wrote a letter to McGonagall about pulling out of her classes. It was getting harder to keep up and continue studying her third year curriculum.

Her friends were coming through the portrait hole right as she was finishing her letter and sending it off. The twins sat around her on the floor, stealing her blanket to share.

Annie smiled at them before packing up her school books.

Then everyone sat around and started up a game of exploding snap.

Annie looked around at everyone, feeling happy to have such great friends in such an unfamiliar place.

* * *

Thanks so much, and please review!


	10. Chapter 10

Hi guys, I know it's been a bit longer than usual for an update. School started up this last week, but I'll do my best to write and update on weekends.

Littlecosma001- Thank you for your review! When I first starting writing this, I knew that I wanted Annie to have a very level head on her shoulders. As the story progresses, we'll see if she can keep that up ;)

Izaria- Thank you for your review! The Yule ball chapters have always been my favorite too :) Yes, she's really trying to remain calm in regards to her feelings for Fred and not stir up drama. I like to think that she values her friendships more than anything, and that includes Angelina, not just Fred.

As usual JK Rowling owns everything except for my character :)

* * *

The second task had finally arrived and the twins were in full swing collecting bets from students. While very enthusiastically shouting from behind, Annie was walking with Harry and Neville. She glanced curiously at the slimy green plant in Neville's hand, wrinkling her nose in disgust.

"You're sure about this Neville?" Harry asked warily.

"Absolutely", Neville responded.

"For an hour?"

"Most likely"

Annie raised her eyebrows at that and fell back in step with the twins while they started arguing.

"I wouldn't bet on Harry if I were you." she said while glancing at them and bringing her scarf up over her nose at the biting wind.

"And why is that?" Fred asked while taking his hat off and putting it on her head, being sure to cover her ears.

"Because the idiot is relying on a shady plant from the sweaty palms of Neville Longbottom" she said with a smile.

"Fantastic" the twins said in unison.

After everyone had settled down, Dumbledore's booming voice sounded.

" Welcome to the second task. Last night something was stolen from each of our champions, a treasure of sorts. These four treasures, one for each champion, now lie on the bottom of the black lake. In order to win, each champion need only find their treasure and return to the surface. Simple enough. Except for this, they will have one hour to do so and one hour only. After that they'll be on their own."

The cannon fired and Annie watched as all 3 champions dived into the water while Harry had to be pushed. A few seconds later he sprang out of the water, flipping around while giving a triumphant shout.

Annie smiled and starting cheering with everyone, glad that Neville's sweaty palm plant worked after all.

Then came the waiting.

Annie and the twins sat huddled together playing a game of exploding snap until the wind picked up yet again. Annie took out a blanket and they all drew each other in close for warmth.

"I wish this damn wind would just go away!" Annie said, glaring at the sky in frustration.

Her wish seemingly came true though because the wind rather abruptly stopped and the air became a few degrees warmer. Annie straightened up, pulling the blanket off of her and glancing at the twins.

"Thank you", Annie said begrudgingly to the sky as the twins laughed at her.

Just then, Dumbledore spoke again, causing everyone to look up.

"The Beauxbatons champion Miss Delacour has unfortunately been forced to retire. She will take no further part in this task."

The twins paid no mind to this and instead continued their conversation about their idea to create candies that get you out of class. Annie thought it was brilliant.

As the hour went on, Cedric came up with Cho in his arms. Not far behind was Krum and surprisingly Hermione swimming next to him. The clock tolled, the hour had finished, and yet Harry wasn't back yet. Everyone began to whisper worriedly about him, wondering what was taking so long. After another few minutes, Ron appeared above the water line with a little girl next to him. Harry soon flew out after them, clearly exhausted. It was soon decided that Cedric would receive first place and Harry second.

So the second task was done and Harry had scraped by, somehow managing to get second place.

* * *

Annie sat yet again in the library by herself. McGonagall had allowed her to pull out of classes and do independent studying after the second task, and things were much more manageable now. She spent most of her day in the library and Madam Prince was becoming quite fond of her, even allowing her to take the occasional book from the library if needed. Annie also spent quite a bit of time in a spare classroom in the dungeons practicing her potions skill. She had really come to enjoy potions, finding it easy to understand how certain ingredients worked and interacted with others. Often she would experiment in creating something new. At this very moment, Annie was looking up ingredients that might help the twins with their trouble-causing snacks.

She became so engrossed in her research that she didn't even notice when someone came and sat across from her silently. She just continued to furiously scribble ideas down and flip pages. Finally, she looked up and noticed Fred sitting there staring at her.

"Oh, hi!" Annie said abruptly, surprised to see him in the library.

"How long have you been sitting there?" She asked with furrowed brows as she started packing up her various books.

"About fifteen minutes", he said with a smile.

Annie let out a breath of air and smiled apologetically at that.

"Common room?" she offered when she picked up her bag.

"Actually, I had something I wanted to show you if that's okay" Fred said while reaching out and taking her bag from her.

"Oh alright" Annie said, wondering what the tall ginger was up to and where his brother was.

Fred led her all the way up to the seventh floor till they were standing across from a tapestry of Barnabus the Barmy. Annie turned and looked at him quizzically.

"This is what you wanted to show me?" she asked with raised eyebrows.

Sure the tapestry was nice, but Annie hadn't realized that Fred enjoyed weaving quite that much.

Fred said nothing and instead began silently pacing back and forth across the hallway with Annie watching him in confusion.

 _He's gone mad,_ she thought.

Or at least that's what she thought before the door appeared on the wall across from the tapestry. Annie gasped in awe before going and touching the brass handle of the door, turning to look at Fred in amazement.

"What's inside?" she asked with bright eyes.

"Why don't you go look?" he said, gesturing for her to open it.

Annie hesitantly touched the brass handle of the door before pushing it open and taking a step inside. Her eyes first noticed the walls of the room, which were lined with thin books. To the left of the door was a comfy looking couch and a fireplace, already lit and spreading warmth to the whole room. Then Annie gasped. There on the right side of the room sat a grand piano with a little piano bench in front of it.

She raced over to it, brushing her fingers along the white and black keys. She looked back at Fred and saw him standing in the doorway with a satisfied grin on his face. She turned back and began exploring the shelves, noting that it was sheet music and not books.

"So what do you think?" Fred said while walking further into the room.

"It's amazing! What is this place?" Annie asked while turning back towards the piano and sitting on the bench.

"It's called the Room of Requirement. It turns into anything you want it to."

Annie smiled at that before beginning to play a few notes on the piano. Then she swiftly started up playing Clair De Lune by Debussy. It had always been Annie's favorite piano piece and the reason why she wanted to learn in the first place. She didn't notice when Fred smiled and went to sit on the couch by the fire to listen, having not heard her on piano before.

As the speed of the piece picked up, Annie closed her eyes and relished in the feeling of her fingers flying swiftly over the keys. When the song finally ended, Annie looked up to find Fred asleep on the couch. She smiled and walked over to the couch, quietly sitting next to him and resting her head on the arm of the couch. Soon enough Annie felt her eyes growing heavy as she too fell asleep next to Fred.

* * *

Annie awoke the next morning to a dark fireplace.

 _Where am I?_

She started to sit up before noticing an arm around her shoulders. She turned her head just enough to notice the bright red hair on the head of the boy next to her. Annie froze, not sure what to do and now wide awake. She could feel Fred breathing next to her, fast asleep. At some point in the night, they must've gravitated towards each other because Annie had her head on his shoulder and Fred had his arm around her.

Annie slowly started getting up, easing herself out from under his arm without waking him. When she looked back, Fred was still fast asleep on the couch. She started searching for her bag quickly, noticing it next to the piano. Annie tiptoed over and put the bag on her shoulder before quickly turning towards the door. However while passing the piano, Annie tripped and grabbed it to break her fall. The clang of several piano keys sounded, causing Fred to jump awake and fall off the couch.

Annie froze, unsure what to do as Fred scrambled up from the floor.

"Bloody hell woman!" he shouted.

Annie just cleared her throat and straightened up, dusting of her shirt.

"Sorry", she said with an awkward smile.

"Did we fall asleep?", Fred asked while looking around the room.

"Yup", Annie said while picking up her bag again and starting to head for the door.

She peeked her head out the door for a moment, saw the coast was clear, and slowly inched into the corridor. When she passed the first window, she stopped and squinted at it. Bright sunlight was glaring at her through the window.

"Shoot", she muttered before breaking out into a run, barely aware of Fred running after her.

Annie and Fred ran all the way back to the common room, ignoring the stares of students walking by. Once inside, Annie was met with Harry, Ron, and Hermione all sitting in the common room looking at her after she burst through the portrait hole. She abruptly stopped, causing Fred to slam into her. He grabbed her arms to steady her before noticing the golden trio.

Annie cleared her throat and waved at the three.

"Good morning", she said as she started heading towards the girl's dormitory.

"It's noon , where have you two been?", Hermione asked with a raised eyebrow.

Annie stopped at that, surprised that they had slept that long. Fred was much quicker on his feet though.

"Oh you know, just causing mayhem and messes for Filch to clean up", Fred said with a big smile as he put an arm around Annie.

There was silence at this and everyone just continued to stare at them.

"Right well, I'll be going then" Annie said quickly before starting up the stairs.

However, she didn't disappear completely before sending one last confused look towards Fred.

* * *

I know this chapter is a bit shorter, it's kind of like the calm before the storm though. So be prepared for some interesting stuff to happen! Please read and review, thanks! :)


	11. Chapter 11

Hello everyone, I'm officially out of hiding. I am SO sorry about not updating for a long time. School has been awful and my computer wasn't working most of the time, however now I have a new computer! I will hopefully be updating much more frequently because I have found my inspiration for this once again! Thank you for your patience!

As usual, I don't own anything except for my character.

* * *

A routine began after that one strange morning in which Annie would spend her days studying outside, usually in the courtyard or by the Black Lake, and spend her evenings in the Room of Requirement with Fred. Occasionally George would join them, and Annie was always sure to spend time with him as well. On one afternoon in particular, George had decided to join Annie by the Black Lake to study and hang out. She was writing out a final essay for her crash course in fourth year potions while George was working on another snack for their boxes.

"Oi"

At that, the two looked up from their work to see Fred and Angelina heading towards them.

"Hello you two", Annie said while smiling up at the two of them.

Angelina struck up a conversation with Annie while the boys talked about their inventions.

"So how have your classes been Annie?", Angelina asked with a smile.

"Good, hopefully I'll be at least close to caught up with you lot by the start of next term" Annie said.

Angelina nodded thoughtfully.

Just then Annie tuned in on the twins discussing potential names for the snack boxes.

"Naughty nibbles?", George offered.

"Too dirty", Fred answered while looking thoughtfully into the distance.

"Troublesome treats?"

"Not dirty enough", Fred said with a smirk.

"Mischievous munchies?", Annie threw in.

"Hmm, not bad…" Fred started.

"Skiving snackboxes?" George offered yet again.

"Skiving snackboxes", Fred repeated before breaking into a wide grin.

"I like it!"

Annie smiled and rolled her eyes at the two.

"Well anyways, we should be going Fred, lots to do" Angelina said with a wink.

"Right, see you two at dinner", Fred said before getting up.

Annie watched as the pair walked off. She smiled at the two of them sadly. She wanted to be happy for them. The sun that had been out and glowing brightly the last few days was suddenly covered in dark clouds. Annie looked at the sky in confusion, it looked like it was going to rain.

"We should probably get inside unless you wanna have to rewrite that essay." George said quickly while packing up.

"Right", Annie muttered, still distracted by Fred and Angelina as well as the random rain clouds in the sky.

* * *

After dinner, Annie went straight to the Room of Requirement without waiting for Fred, still confused about earlier in the day. She knew that it wasn't his fault that she felt the way she did, but it still felt like a personal blow every time she saw them together. Her and Angelina had been getting along alright, though Annie didn't think they would ever be best friends.

By the time Annie sat down in front of the piano, her head was swirling with thoughts. To calm herself down, she began playing Gymnopedie No. 1 by Erik Satie. Annie closed her eyes and let the relaxing music wash over her, trying to let all of her thoughts and unspoken feelings towards Fred go.

 _None of it matters,_ she thought.

 _I'm here to learn about magic, not get a new boyfriend._

And yet as she thought this, her heart still yearned for something more than what she currently had. There seemed to be a hole in her chest that nothing and nobody could fill.

 _Maybe Fred could fill that void._

That nagging voice in the back of Annie's head threatened to break the bubble of peace that she had tried to create. Annie just delved further into the music, pushing past her problems. Yet even the music had to end and as she played the last note, Annie was right back where she started. Only now Fred was leaning against the wall watching her.

"Are you alright?"

Annie jumped, having not heard him come in.

"Geez, you scared me!"

He just laughed and came to sit down next to her on the piano bench.

"That was a nice piece", he said with a smile.

Annie cleared her throat and inched as far away as the bench would allow, trying to put some space between the two of them.

"Thank you", she said quietly.

They stared at each other for a bit, neither really sure what to do or say.

"So, are you alright?", he asked again.

"Fine, why do you ask?", Annie responded quickly.

"You were quiet at dinner is all, and you took off without me."

Annie just looked at him, trying to see if he had any sort of inkling about how she felt about him. She saw nothing but sincere concern in his eyes.

 _Good_ , Annie thought.

The last thing she wanted to do was cause any discomfort between her best friend and herself.

She just gave him a small smile before turning to the piano and playing a few stray thoughts of a song.

"Just a bit homesick I suppose", she said absentmindedly.

Just then, her fingers picked up a random merry tune as Fred put an arm around her. She looked up at him with a shy smile before turning back to the keys. They stayed like that for hours, but to Annie it felt like just a few minutes. The bubble of peace that she had been desperately trying build up was finally there, but she decided to give up and just include Fred in it with her.

* * *

The third task had arrived and the sky was filled with grey clouds. Everyone walked to the quidditch pitch, excited chatter following in their wake.

"Look, all I'm saying is Cedric _deserves_ to win. He's just so handsome and talented!" Katie exclaimed, gesturing wildly in frustration.

Annie laughed loudly at this, shaking her head at her dear friend.

"Just because he's handsome doesn't mean that he deserves to win Katie. Besides, I didn't say that he didn't deserve to win. I just said that Harry's going to win."

"Why do you say that?", Katie asked.

"Because that kid is lucky and somehow manages to scrape by every time. I've heard about the last three years at Hogwarts you know", Annie said with a smile towards Katie.

"Oh well whatever. I just can't wait for this tournament to be over! Except for the first one, these tasks have been rather dull to watch. I miss quidditch."

Annie just smiled and shook her head. As they trudged through the rather damp evening toward the stands, Annie spotted the twins. They were up ahead shouting for bets, Angelina following them and laughing enthusiastically with Alicia. She smiled lovingly at the sound of them shouting obnoxiously to a group of terrified first years as they passed. She had become quite fond of them during her time at Hogwarts and could no longer imagine life without them. She loved roaming the halls with them after hours causing mischief, sitting by the lake with George to study, and spending her evenings playing the piano with Fred. Annie didn't notice as Katie looked at her with a raised eyebrow, noticing her look of fondness and the way it zeroed in on one particular ginger twin.

The third task was well underway and Annie and Katie had taken to chatting about summer was taking an extended vacation in Paris with her parents, something Annie could only dream of. Katie looked at her in sympathy as she relayed that she would be spending the summer in the states working at her local coffee shop.

Suddenly everyone was on their feet cheering while the two girls looked around in confusion. Then Katie quickly got up and joined in.

"Annie get up! Harry's back with the Cup!"

But Annie couldn't move, she was suddenly frozen to her seat by what she felt. A chill ran through her body as she heard someone scream in the distance. She slowly got up and looked at the body that Harry desperately clung to. She watched with wide eyes as Amos Diggory ran to his son's lifeless body, mourning his loss.

Tears came to her eyes as Annie desperately looked around for some sort of comfort. Then she saw him. Annie locked eyes with Fred, who had been a ways down the stands to sit with Angelina. Then the floodgates opened in the sky and began to pour and Annie looked up at the sky with a heavy heart. When she looked back at Fred, Angelina was in his arms. As Annie turned and hugged Katie, who was sobbing, she could still feel Fred's eyes on her.

* * *

The rest of the term went by quietly. There was no talk of summer plans anymore, because there was someone who never made it to the summer and so it no longer felt right. So everyone parted ways in a rather sombre fashion, Annie to the states, Katie to Paris, and the twins to the Burrow.

Now Annie sat at the coffee shop down the street, reading her potions book disguised as a muggle romance novel. It was well into July by now and the death of Cedric Diggory still lingered in her mind, but she had begun to move on. The pure monotony of getting up and going to work had helped distract her from her life at Hogwarts. In fact, she hadn't heard from Katie or the twins in a while. Much had happened over the summer without them around, including Annie catching up to her seventh year friends in her study. Annie's feelings towards Fred had also changed as well. The first few weeks had been agonizing without him near. However with a bit of distance, Annie had found herself thinking a bit more clearly. Perhaps they just weren't meant to be, and she was okay with that.

Annie looked up as a rather tall boy came into the coffee shop, then smiled when she recognized him and he sat down next to her.

"Hi there stranger", she said with a smile.

The boy sitting next to her was James Grant, who worked at the coffee shop with Annie. They had grown rather close over the last two months and Annie was sure that they would be dating soon.

"Hey, what are you reading?" he asked, looking over her shoulder.

Annie quickly closed the book ad pushed it aside, throwing him a nonchalant smile before he could notice anything.

"Oh just a crappy romance novel, it's rather dull actually. Are you working today?"

She quickly changed the subject and they made small talk, laughing and chatting as though they had known each other for ages. After about half an hour, Annie started packing to go home, hoping to get more studying done there.

"Hey, before you go can I ask you something?" James said, grabbing her hand while she stood up.

She smiled at him and nodded, feeling her cheeks get warm at his touch.

"Would you maybe want to go out tonight? See a movie?"

Her stomach turned at his question. For just a second, Fred popped into the back of her mind but the thought of him was gone in an instant.

Annie raised her eyebrows playfully and and gave a heavy sigh.

"Well I suppose I can spare a little bit of time for you", she said with a smile.

He just shook his head at her with a smile.

"7 tonight then?"

"Sure," Annie said, giving James' hand a squeeze before walking outside with a small smile on her face.

* * *

The rest of summer flew by and Annie couldn't be happier. Things with James had gone extremely well and Annie was completely enamoured with him. She was constantly owling Katie and George, but there was a strange silence from Fred. At one point, Katie even came down to Texas for a weekend. Annie thought back to the days they spent gossiping and reading by the pool in her backyard…

" _So, am I going to meet this James?" Katie asked, looking at Annie playfully._

" _He's out of town this weekend with his family, but maybe during Christmas. That is if you still want to come back then?", Annie asked with a content smile, basking in the warm glow of the sun._

" _Well of course I'm coming back, as long as I get to meet the dream guy you can't stop talking about. Speaking of boys, how are the twins?"_

 _Katie noticed that Annie was avoiding her questioning gaze._

" _George has been good, they had a pretty uneventful summer at the Burrow." Annie said quietly._

 _Katie paused, waiting for her to say more._

" _Well what about Fred? Have you talked at all this summer?"_

 _Annie sighed and looked at Katie with a sad smile._

" _I think we burned that bridge. Things just got a bit awkward with us at the end of the year with all the unspoken feelings and his dating Angelina.", Annie said with a shrug._

 _The truth is Annie had been thinking about their friendship a lot as the date to return to school loomed ever near. She hadn't heard from him all summer despite the constant flow of letters from George and she wasn't entirely sure why. She had sent one letter at the beginning of summer but never received a reply._

" _He's probably too enamoured with Angelina" Annie said quietly._

 _Katie paused, taking a good look at Annie and seeing that the thought of losing her friend was difficult for her to accept._

" _Well," Katie started while getting up and stretching._

" _Who cares about that tosser anyways," she said smartly before promptly diving into the pool._

 _Annie laughed and got up to join her._

* * *

Thanks for reading, please review!


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